Red Kayak [Hardcover]

Priscilla Cummings (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 2004

First hailed as a hero for his dramatic water rescue of a little boy, thirteen-year-old Brady Parks soon makes a discovery that puts him at the heart of an enormous tragedy. Alone with his dark secret, Brady is ultimately forced to choose between loyalty to his lifelong friends and doing what he knows in his heart is right. Priscilla Cummings weaves a suspenseful, multilayered tale of three teenage boys caught in a wicked web of their own making.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. In this satisfying crime and coming-of-age drama, a toddler drowns in a kayak accident after friends of teenage Brady, the victim's neighbor, vent some anger against the child's dad by drilling holes in the bottom of his craft. It was a mean-spirited prank--but no one was supposed to die. What happens now? Revealing the terrible secret would implicate Brady's friends in the drowning, and it clouds his whole world with guilt and fear. Cummings works plot and characterizations skillfully, building suspense as the evidence unfolds and as Brady wrestles with his decision and tries to come to terms with his own responsibility. Brady's eastern-Maryland surroundings and heritage (his father, a waterman, struggles to make a living from crabbing) are also vividly evoked. Brady's ultimate decision is both anguished and well reasoned, making for a realistic conclusion. Anne O'Malley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Voices ring with authenticity; the situation is tense and the stakes high . . . . A gem. -- VOYA --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st edition (September 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525473173
• ISBN-13: 978-0525473176
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,235,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Priscilla Cummings is the author of Red Kayak and A Face First, an ALA Notable Book. She spent an academic year attending school with blind students before writing this story of a teenager's wrenching physical and mental journey into blindness. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Book, December 11, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Red Kayak (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a seventh grader from Seattle, and I read the Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings. I thought it was a good book and I thought I would share my opinion.

It is about a 13-year old named Brady who leads a normal life as a working kid fishing for crabs when a new family, who is quite well off comes into the neighborhood. Tragedy strikes when their red kayak turns over in the bay and causes a tragic accident. Brady, who is on the rescue team and friendly with the family, investigates the cause of the accident, and he doesn't like what he finds.

This book is full of suspense and will keep you hooked from page 1 through the end of the story. It is a very interesting book and I think I would recommend it for people ages 10 and up. I give it four and a half out of 5 stars. It is a must read.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best adolescent books, November 30, 2006

By 

D. Trout-Davidson "literature teacher" (St. Clair, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Kayak (Mass Market Paperback)

This is one of the best young adult/teenage novels I have read in a long time. It is well written and spoken like a 14 year old boy. I could not put this book down because I needed to know what happened to all of the characters. I can't wait to read other books by this author.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lacks Authentic Characters, March 12, 2010

By 

James A. Doherty (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Kayak (Mass Market Paperback)

Kayak is rich in theme and offers some good plot twists, but it is desperately lacking in authenticity and voice. The main character, Brady, contrives a diabolical plan to sabotage the new neighbor's red kayak, and is then shocked to find out that his best friends acted on the plan. The plot is unique and well crafted, but the characters seem to be driven by the needs of the plot. It was Brady who laid out the cruel and vindictive plan, revealed only through a brief flashback that is completely out of character, but his character's thought process and actions for the remainder of the book are those of a character with unrealistically high moral standards and a need to connect emotionally with every other character on a level that feels nothing like a middle school boy, especially one who could lay out such a plan. In the end, Brady's friends, rather than feeling betrayed when Brady has them arrested, are thankful to their friend (and, remember, mastermind of the plan) for turning them in, and to me, again, act completely out of character to the ones the author constructed. This ruined a good plot for me.